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Tensions Simmer On Anniversary Of Georgia-Russia War

August 07, 2009

(RFE/RL) -- Students in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, wave national flags as they chant around a bonfire -- one of the first in a series of ceremonies marking what one student recalls as Moscow's aggression against her country:

"Today, with the help of this fire we want to show that we are cleaning up Georgia from Russia's aggression," she says. "This fire is the symbol of purification, of our unity and these kind of fires will be lit all over Georgia."

On this day a year ago Georgia started shelling South Ossetia after days of clashes with pro-Moscow separatists.

It was also the culmination of years of rising tensions between the former Soviet republic and its giant northern neighbor.

One year later, each side has a competing version of events.

Georgia claims Russian forces had already begun crossing through a tunnel into South Ossetia before Georgian forces were ordered to act. In Tbilisi's view the war was Russia's way of punishing it for turning to the West; in particular, seeking NATO membership.

But Moscow has a different narrative, one in which Russia, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko, acted to counter Georgia's "barbarian aggression."

Nesterenko said that Georgian President Mikheil "Saakashvili's regime carried out a foul, inhuman attack on [South Ossetia's] peaceful citizens and Russian peacekeepers who had for many years defended the peace and security of the peoples living in a fragile Transcaucasus region.

"Georgia, in the course of its aggression, used inhumane weapons -- including cluster bombs, multiple-rocket launchers, 500-kilogram bombs -- on a massive scale.

Quick, Bitter Conflict

The conflict lasted just five days.

Russian forces quickly drove back the Georgian military in South Ossetia.

They then moved deeper into Georgia, at one point coming within 40 kilometers of Tbilisi, and carried out bombing raids.

And Russian forces also moved from bases in another breakaway region, Abkhazia, further into Georgia proper.

By the time the EU brokered a cease-fire on August 12, nearly 400 civilians had died and nearly 200,000 people had been displaced.

Russia agreed to pull back its forces to prewar positions. But it boosted its military presence in both breakaway regions and recognized both as independent states.

One year later, Amnesty International says some 30,000 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, remain displaced by the conflict.

Pointing Fingers

Both sides continue to trade accusations of blame for who started the war.

And tensions have risen in the run-up to the anniversary, with Georgia and South Ossetia accusing each other of carrying out small-scale attacks and "provocations."

Competing ceremonies on the anniversary reflect that divide.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who laid a wreath to soldiers killed in the war, is to make an address to the nation.

Russian television is airing an interview with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in which he says the decision to send troops in was "the hardest thing, but in the end we got it right."

And South Ossetia's separatist leader, Eduard Kokoity, has used the occasion to press his case for independence.